We were expecting better weather today, which it was until later in the afternoon when rain returned. So in low sunshine we set off, blinded from time to time by the low light and reflection in the water. However, canals are windy (as in many turns) which makes the problem short lived. Reaching Hinckley we revisited bridge 17 which we can confirm is the lowest on the canal, but OK for our chimney without the cooley hat. This is a new bridge, so why wasn't it built to match the air draft in the rest of the canal. It only needed 6 to 9 inches more height. A straightforward trip until Marston Junction with the Coventry Canal. It is impossible to start a turn until pretty well out of the bridge which makes a turn towards Coventry in one go a non-starter. However there is plenty of room to mess about in which is when a boat appeared from Atherstone direction. So we let him go by, and followed clossely behind only for us both to get tangled up in an opposite directon approaching the other bridge. No real problem, but like the buses, never asee one and then three come at once! Following our leader we continued only to get hung up again just before bridge 14. There was a line of what looks like long term moored boats here, but the canal is narrowed by the offside vegetation which makes the channel one way, so of course there was an opposite direction boat here too! Arriving at the junction there was plenty of mooring available on the Coventry Canal approach so we stopped on this side for the night, leaving the stop lock for the morning. A "bird in hand", so as to speak. One cannot see what the mooring situation is on the other side untill too late to turn back.
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